North korea embassy

It followed the first 20-minute phone call on Wednesday after North Korea launched long-range ballistic missile Hwansong-15, which was said to be able to reach the US mainland. In related news, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis pledged to stick to diplomatic solutions after North Korea’s latest inter-continental ballistic missile test. South Korea's Air Force said on Friday it has created a bigger airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unit in response to growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. The new unit is tasked with monitoring the North's related activities around the clock in close coordination with the US. At Thursday’s meeting with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said his country will reduce the number of its embassy’s staff in Pyongyang and request North Korea’s Embassy in Berlin to do the same. … [Read more...] about North Korea’s missile launch: South Korea, US back diplomatic solutions

SINGAPORE -- Singapore has suspended trade relations with North Korea, the latest of Pyongyang’s major trade partners to cut commercial ties under toughening U.N. sanctions over its weapons program, a customs notice obtained on Thursday showed. The move comes about two months after the United States imposed North Korea-related sanctions on a number of firms and individuals, including two entities based in Singapore.“Singapore will prohibit all commercially traded goods from, or to, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK),” the city-state’s customs said in the notice sent to traders and declaring agents last Tuesday, referring to the country by its official name.The suspension would take effect from Nov. 8, Fauziah A. Sani, head of trade strategy and security for the director-general of customs, said in the notice.Repeated breach of the new prohibitions is punishable by a fine of up to S$200,000 ($147,340.50) or four times the value of the goods … [Read more...] about Singapore suspends trade relations with North Korea

U. S. President Donald Trump should “under no circumstances” take military action against North Korea without the consent of the government in Seoul, the chairwoman of South Korea’s ruling party, Choo Mi-ae, said on Wednesday.“President Trump often emphasizes that he put all options on the table,” Choo told a Washington think-tank. “We want to make sure that this option of another war is not placed on the table. Under no circumstances should the U.S. go ahead and use a military option without the consent of South Korea.”“We must seek a peaceful resolution of the matter in any manner that is available to us.”The remarks by Choo, who is expected to meet Trump administration officials in Washington, underscored South Korean concerns that any U.S. strikes against North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs could provoke devastating North Korean retaliation against South Korea.Visiting Seoul last week, Trump warned North Korea … [Read more...] about South Korean says US must not strike North Korea without Seoul’s consent

"When people come here sometimes they cannot believe their eyes," beams Yit Chandaroat, of the Angkor Panorama Museum, which opened in December after a construction process shrouded in secrecy. "They really feel like they are back in the time of Angkor", he added, referring to the world heritage site which comprises the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Behind him stands the museum's piece de resistance, an enormous 360-degree panorama that 63 North Korean painters from the state-owned Mansudae Art Studio toiled away on for more than a year. The mural, epic in scale and intricate in detail, covers an area larger than eight tennis courts and reflects the sweeping grandiosity for which Pyongyang's artists are renowned. But this is no socialist realist tribute to North Korea's 'Dear Leaders'. Instead the paintings portray the battles of the fearsome Khmer Empire at the apogee of its power in the 11th and 13th … [Read more...] about Cambodia a canvas for North Korea’s grand masters

China criticized North Korea's nuclear test on Friday but Beijing is unlikely to follow up with strong action because its influence is limited and it believes the United States and South Korea share responsibility for growing tensions in the region.China, Pyongyang's main diplomatic ally, is key in any effort to rein in North Korea's nuclear program. But it has been infuriated by the isolated nation's nuclear and missile tests and has signed up to increasingly tough United Nations sanctions.Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China would lodge a diplomatic protest with North Korea at its embassy in Beijing for conducting the test.Beijing has also repeatedly expressed anger since the United States and South Korea decided in July to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system in the South to counter missile and nuclear threats from North Korea.China says this is a threat to its own security and will do nothing to bring North Korea back to the … [Read more...] about China slams North Korea’s nuclear test but unlikely to do much

North Korea and Malaysia on Tuesday banned each other's citizens from leaving their countries, with Kuala Lumpur saying its nationals were effectively being held "hostage" in a row over the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam.The extraordinary tit-for-tat moves came as the reclusive North faced growing international condemnation for a volley of missiles it fired into the Sea of Japan, defying stringent global sanctions aimed at halting its weapons program.Tuesday's developments marked a dramatic heightening of tensions with Malaysia three weeks after the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was murdered at Malaysia's main airport with the banned VX nerve agent.The North decided to "temporarily ban the exit of Malaysian citizens in the DPRK", the official news agency KCNA said, citing the foreign ministry and using the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.The prohibition would remain in place "until the safety of the diplomats and citizens of the DPRK … [Read more...] about North Korea, Malaysia in tit-for-tat exit bans over Kim killing

Malaysia said talks were underway on Monday for the release of nine citizens stranded in North Korea by a travel ban, while its defense minister tried to ease anxieties among the public about the risks of angering an unpredictable nuclear-armed state. Formerly friendly relations between the two countries soured in the wake of an investigation into the murder in Kuala Lumpur last month of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un. Angered by the Malaysian police identifying North Korean suspects and wanting to question others, including a diplomat at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, North Korea slapped a travel ban on Malaysians leaving its borders, prompting tit-for-tat action by Malaysia. Malaysia also expelled the North Korean ambassador, but in a bit to calm relations Prime Minister Najib Razak said last week that ties with Pyongyang would not be severed and talks are now on between the two governments to settle their issues. For Malaysia, the top … [Read more...] about Malaysia says talks on with North Korea for return of nine citizens

When Kim Jong Un inherited power in North Korea in late 2011, then-Chinese president Hu Jintao was outwardly supportive of the untested young leader, predicting that "traditional friendly cooperation" between the countries would strengthen. Two years later, Kim ordered the execution of his uncle Jang Song Thaek, the country's chief interlocutor with China and a relatively reform-minded official in the hermetic state. Since then, ties between the allies have deteriorated so sharply that some diplomats and experts fear Beijing may become, like Washington, a target of its neighbour's ire. While the United States and its allies - and many people in China - believe Beijing should do more to rein in Pyongyang, the acceleration of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities has coincided with a near-total breakdown of high-level diplomacy between the two. Before retiring this summer, China's long-time point man on North Korea, Wu Dawei, had not visited the country for over a year. His … [Read more...] about ‘Lips and teeth’ no more as China’s ties with North Korea fray: analysis

The United States said on Monday it had sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery and equipment wholesaler, a new step in tightening the financial noose around North Korea's nuclear program after its fifth nuclear test this month. The U.S. Treasury said it was sanctioning Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co (DHID) and four of its executives, including the firm's founder Ma Xiaohong, under U.S. regulations targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. It accused the firm of acting on behalf of North Korea's Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC), which has been under U.S. and U.N. sanctions for supporting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. Department of Justice said it had filed criminal charges against the Chinese firm and the executives for using front companies to evade sanctions on North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The charges accuse the firm and the individuals of conspiring to violate sanctions rules and engaging in … [Read more...] about US sanctions Chinese firm tied to North Korea’s nuclear program

China asked the United States on March 16 for help removing the ships from the U.N. blacklist, according to a diplomatic cable sent the same day from the U.S. permanent mission at the United Nations to a group of other U.S. embassies. The cable, reviewed by Reuters, showed wrangling between top diplomats from the United States and China over the tough new North Korea sanctions, weeks after Washington had presented a united front with Beijing, Pyongyang's main ally and trade partner. The U.S. mission at the United Nations declined to comment on the cable or make its ambassador, Samantha Power, available for an interview about the cable. The U.S. Treasury Department, which administers U.S. economic and financial sanctions, also declined to comment. The removal of the four ships was confirmed in a press release, which was seen by Reuters and will soon be issued by the Security Council, according to U.N. diplomats. While Washington has been the driving force behind the toughening … [Read more...] about EXCLUSIVE-U.N. lifts North Korea sanctions on four ships at China’s request